


romantically in love

by ignitesthestars



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/F, First Kiss, Fluff, Love Confessions, Romance, surprisingly effective romantic advice from lance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-16
Updated: 2018-09-16
Packaged: 2019-07-13 00:19:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16006343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ignitesthestars/pseuds/ignitesthestars
Summary: “You know I am in love with you, right?”Allura is, first and foremost, a diplomat. And when you are a diplomat who has to deal with a wide variety of races and cultures, you get used to people blurting unexpected things at you all the time.Apparently she’d made a mistake in letting her guard down around another Altean. Perhaps the word love had changed in her own language over the years, in much the same way quiznak apparently had. Or perhaps--“Romantically, I mean.” Romelle wasn't even looking at her.





	romantically in love

“You know I am in love with you, right?”

Allura is, first and foremost, a diplomat. And when you are a diplomat who has to deal with a wide variety of races and cultures, you get used to people blurting unexpected things at you all the time.

Apparently she’d made a mistake in letting her guard down around another Altean. Perhaps the word love had changed in her own language over the years, in much the same way quiznak apparently had. Or perhaps--

“Romantically, I mean.” 

Romelle isn’t even looking at her. Not because she’s shy, oh no. Rather, she has her legs kicked up on the side of Allura’s hospital bed, her arms thrown behind her head as she inspects the ceiling out of pure curiosity. She’s the picture of ease, unconcerned with the fact that she is _blowing Allura’s mind_.

Allura inhales sharply, and promptly chokes on her own saliva. There’s a crash from Romelle as she stops reclining in her chair, the legs smacking against the floor. She hurries to Allura’s side, smacking her back entirely unhelpfully as Allura struggles to gather the tatters of her dignity around her, frantically trying to find the right words even as she tries to get her air back.

“You don’t have to say anything,” Romelle reassures her, still apparently unbothered by the whole debacle. Her hand shifts from smacking to soothing circles and - and somehow that makes it even harder to breathe. Allura manages it through sheer survival instinct, because she’s pretty sure her higher brain power has fled the area. “I just wanted you to know.”

And then she _winks_ , dropping back into her seat and kicking back into her previous pose like she hasn’t just turned the world upside down. 

Allura pinches her forearm like she’s seen the other paladins do on various occasions. She’s not entirely sure what’s supposed to happen as a result, but nothing changes. Romelle is still there, completely unbothered, her words ringing in Allura’s ears.

 _Say something_ , her brain finally prompts, deciding to be helpful at last. _You have to say something_.

She opens her mouth to do exactly that, even if she’s not sure exactly what’s going to come out. Romelle’s pale violet gaze slides sideways, the first indication that maybe she’s not entirely unaffected as she appears, and something in Allura’s chest stutters at all the implications of that.

Of course, Coran chooses that moment to burst into the room. Allura doesn’t think she imagines the way Romelle’s shoulders slump, but Coran is saying something about Chick Hens that seems vitally important and by the time she’s able to to decipher his interpretive dance, the other girl has slipped out of the room.

*

Lance laughs when she tells him about it.

It’s a conversation she might not have touched with him some time ago, but their battles, rest and long recuperation has led to something of a...re-shaping of all the paladins and their emotions. Some feelings have sharpened (they’ve all run into Shiro and Keith more times than any of them would care to think about at this point) and others have...softened. Still deep, but perhaps not so urgent.

All this to say, Lance had rather nervous told her that he didn’t think he was in love with her after all but that he would very much like to be her friend, and they’d both been so relieved that her answer was ‘oh, same’ that they’d laughed until recent injuries had flared up to stop them.

They’re both well healed now though, so there’s nothing stopping Lance from cackling right in her face.

“Oh man, she really just dropped that right on you, huh?”

“ _Lance_.” Perhaps he doesn’t understand what a crisis this is. “You’re not helping!”

“I’m not trying to help! This is me, extremely entertained, very much not helping.”

He does stop laughing, though. They’re on the roof of one of the recently repaired Garrison buildings, with twilight quietly descending upon them. The sky is cast in shades of red and violet, and Allura thinks fondly of Romelle’s eyes again, before she catches herself. The groan is instinctive; the leaning forward to bury her face against her knees is necessary.

“I cannot do this again,” she mumbles.

“Hey.” The humour drops from his voice, and this _is_ Lance trying to help. He places a hand on her shoulder. “What do you mean, again? And why’s that a problem, exactly?”

“ _Lotor_.” It’s hard to get his name out, half caught between grief and loathing.

“What, you - think Romelle’s secretly one of his scary general ladies or something? I mean she sort of has a lifelong history of distrusting and hating the guy, but I guess the only person we know that from is _her_ so maybe--”

“No, no, I mean--” She flaps a hand at him, waving away that concern. “I was very easily taken in by Lotor, because he made himself everything I thought I wanted. He was a connection to home when I missed it so desperately - Lance, you have to admit I have such a _blind_ spot when it comes to Altea.”

“Oooooooooooh. And you’re worried that if you start having squishy heart feelings in Romelle’s direction, it’ll just be because she’s Altean and that’s important to you?”

She nods morosely. “And it’s not just that. Romelle spoke of the Altean colony now and the way they were all conditioned. They practically worship Lotor, and now here I am, an ancient Altean princess stepping out of ten thousand years worth of myth and legend. She _says_ she has feelings for me, but what if she’s just starry eyed from the romance and drama of it all?”

“I wouldn’t know what that’s like,” Lance says dryly, and she snorts a laugh despite herself, turning her head on its side to look at him. “But uh - if that’s what you’re worried about, I think you’re probably safe with her? I mean, she’s the one person in that whole place who _didn’t_ worship the guy, remember? The whole reason she’s here at all to send you into a tailspin like this is because she’s got some pretty top-notch critical thinking skills.”

That...is a good point, but far from being a comfort, it just tears that first worry open that much wider. Allura groans again. 

“I think that’s worse.”

“Yeah, absolutely.”

“Lance!”

“What! _Obviously_ that’s worse. If she was just starry eyed over a story, you could ignore the whole thing. Ignoring feelings is easy! Having to confront your tangled emotions and figure out if you’re projecting or if there’s actually something there is a daunting and horrible task!”

She smacks him in the shoulder. “You are _still not helping_.”

He rolls his eyes, flicking the shell of her ear in retaliation. “Lucky for you, you have Earth’s number one love expert here to help you figure it out. First step! Do you think Romelle is pretty?”

“Well - yes. I do have eyes, you know.”

“Sure, but pretty in a ‘I love how you do your hair and your shade of lipstick is just so _you_ I wish you could pull that off’ kind of way?” He sounds distressingly like his sister. “Or in a like, ‘oh Romelle, I want to gently slide my thumb over your cheek markings and admire your beautiful gaze from up close and personal’ kind of way?”

Allura flushes. Deeply, instantly, and visible even in the low light of the evening.

Lance grins triumphantly. “Okay then. Next question.”

*

Finding Romelle in the days that follow proves more difficult than anticipated. Luckily (sort of) for her, Lance still finds it impossible to keep his mouth shut, which means all of their friends find out about the situation in some form or another almost immediately.

While this does open Allura up to some truly terrible teasing, it also deputises the other paladins in the task of ‘find Romelle’, a girl who is aggressively curious about every single thing she encounters, especially in relation to alien cultures, and who has apparently taken to exploring the surrounding area with abandon.

Allura’s following up on a tip from Pidge (‘she’s eating the ramen guy out of house and home in the city’) when she finally hunts the other girl down. Nerves stop her from approaching first, and then a strange sort of fondness as she watches Romelle lean over the counter, cheeks stuffed with her current meal and pointing wildly at the next thing she wants to try.

Far from looking harried or annoyed, the guy behind the counter seems delighted, so Allura can at least assume she’s been paying for her food. She laughs at something he says, nodding in furious agreement, and Allura takes a moment to just...admire the other girl in all her shameless directness. There’s very little guile in Romelle, who seems to have decided that there’s no point in wasting time not being honest about exactly what you want.

Allura’s going to have to borrow some of that bravery.

“Excuse me,” she says, finally approaching. “Is this seat taken?”

Romelle turns wide eyes on her, swallowing her mouthful painfully before a surprisingly soft smile steals her expression. “You stopped panicking, then?”

“I wasn’t--!” But she puffs a laugh, shaking her head. “Well. In my defense, you did drop something of an emotional bomb on me and then disappear.”

Romelle sniffs. “You looked like you needed some time to process.” She looks down at her bowl, poking at the noodles with her chopsticks. “And...I was scared.”

Allura blinks, before sliding onto the stool next to her. “You certainly didn’t _seem_ scared.”

“Really? At least that part of my cunning plan worked.”

“What part didn’t work?”

“Other than Coran bursting in with some strange kind of war dance? I was rather hoping you’d melt before the force of my love and just fall into my arms.” She pokes at her noodles some more. “It would have taken a lot of complication out of the situation.”

Something in Allura’s chest aches. It certainly would have been less complicated, but…

She reaches out to close a hand gently around Romelle’s wrist, stopping the nervous motion. If her thumb slides slowly over the soft skin there - well. Blame Lance. 

“I’ve learnt over the past few years that if situations are simple, it’s usually because you’re missing things. Life is...messy. But all that messiness seems to make the good parts so much better in comparison.”

Romelle swallows, turning that soft smile on her again. It’s hope, she realises, something so precious and fragile that the other girl can’t seem to devote any huge gesture to it. 

“Well, then. I hope very much that you’re about to provide one of those fabled good parts, Allura.”

The ache in her chest only expands, but there’s warmth there as well. Fondness, and a chance for something deeper, if Allura allows herself to chase it.

She draws in a breath. “Romelle, I think - I think you’re brave, and kind, and so very strong. Absurd, too, in a way that I find completely delightful. And beautiful enough to take my breath away. I can’t - I can’t promise that I’m in love with you, things have been so terrible and complicated the past few years that there’s been barely time to breathe, let alone thing, but - but I’d like very much to try. To find out. With you. If that was something that you wanted.”

For a second, the whole universe and the ramen guy behind the counter hold their breath. Allura personally thinks she might be on the verge of hyperventilating, actually, which is why it’s probably a good thing that Romelle beings her hand up to cradle her jaw. Her thumb sweeps gently over Allura’s cheek markings and then she’s kissing her with the same heart-breaking softness as that smile.

“Oh,” Allura mumbles quietly against her mouth, pressing closer. “Oh.”

“I think you’re brave,” Romelle murmurs back, kissing the corner of her mouth, her jaw, her cheek. “And kind, and strong, and righteous enough to set the galaxy on fire.” And she’s drawn, inexorably, back to her mouth, lips easing over lips, teeth tuffing softly, tongue soothing right after. “And _absolutely_ adorable. Honestly, it’s ridiculous. Do you know what it’s been like having to watch you interact with tiny mice? My heart nearly exploded. _Yes_ that’s something I want, you absolutel fool.”

Somewhere in the kitchen, the ramen guy is sobbing. Allura is too busy laughing, and kissing, and laughing more to care.

**Author's Note:**

> im on [tumblr!](http://ignitesthestars.tumblr.com/) and also [twitter!](https://twitter.com/ignitesthestars)


End file.
